Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), currently serving a 25-year sentence at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, has publicly endorsed the Clarity Act, a major piece of cryptocurrency legislation pending in Congress.
On Wednesday, 25 February 2025, Sam Bankman-Fried took to X to voice his enthusiasm for the bill, framing it as a victory for the incoming administration. “The CLARITY Act will be a huge milestone for crypto and a huge achievement for @realDonaldTrump,” SBF wrote. He went on to claim that he had championed similar legislation to remove crypto from SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s oversight before Gensler “helped Biden’s DOJ put me behind bars.”
The unsolicited support, delivered via social media on Wednesday, immediately triggered a sharp bipartisan rebuke from senior lawmakers who made it clear that the disgraced FTX founder’s approval is a political liability rather than an asset. It appears that even from a prison cell, SBF retains a remarkable talent for uniting Republicans and Democrats, albeit against him.
👀 NEW: Sam Bankman-Fried publicly endorsed the #CLARITY Act from prison, calling it a “huge milestone for crypto” and praising Donald #Trump. pic.twitter.com/pc0SowhqsD
— Coinpaper (@coinpapercom) February 27, 2026
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The reaction from Capitol Hill was swift and unified. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), a long-time advocate for clear crypto regulations and a key sponsor of market structure bills, wasted no time distancing the Clarity Act from Bankman-Fried. In a direct response on X, Lummis stated, “My legislation couldn’t be more different than the bill you tried to buy from Congress over my objection in 2022. We do not need—nor want—your support.”
Lummis went further, noting that under the stricter provisions of the Clarity Act, Bankman-Fried’s crimes would have likely resulted in an even longer prison term than the quarter-century sentence he is currently serving. The sentiment was echoed across the aisle. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), a frequent critic of the crypto industry, seized the moment to remind the public of SBF’s track record. Warren described him as a “fraudster who stole at least $8 billion from customers,” reinforcing her stance that the industry requires strict guardrails to protect taxpayers and the financial system.
In 2022, shortly before the collapse of FTX, SBF was a vocal proponent of the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act (DCCPA). His aggressive lobbying for that bill, which critics argued would have favored FTX’s business model at the expense of decentralized finance (DeFi) competitors, ultimately tainted the legislation’s prospects once his fraud was exposed. His current endorsement of the Clarity Act threatens to repeat history, attaching a toxic legacy to a new legislative effort.
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The Clarity Act: What SBF Is Actually Endorsing
The legislation in question, formally known as the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, aims to resolve one of the industry’s most persistent headaches: the jurisdictional tug-of-war between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). By establishing clear criteria for classifying digital assets as commodities or securities, the bill seeks to provide the regulatory certainty that institutional investors have long demanded.
While industry proponents argue such clarity is essential for the next phase of market growth, the bill has faced a complex path through a divided Congress. The legislation has recently gained momentum as a priority for President-elect Donald Trump, who is reportedly eager to sign crypto market structure reforms into law. However, having the face of the industry’s largest fraud scandal cheerleading from the sidelines complicates the narrative for sponsors trying to frame the bill as a consumer protection measure.
While Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse recently predicted a 90% chance of passage by late April, unsolicited endorsements from convicted felons provide easy ammunition for the bill’s opponents. The challenge for lawmakers now is to convince their colleagues that the bill is robust enough to regulate the very people cheering for it.
Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article aims to deliver accurate and timely information but should not be taken as financial or investment advice. Since market conditions can change rapidly, we encourage you to verify information on your own and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.
Daniel Frances is a technical writer and Web3 educator specializing in macroeconomics and DeFi mechanics. A crypto native since 2017, Daniel leverages his background in on-chain analytics to author evidence-based reports and deep-dive guides. He holds certifications from The Blockchain Council, and is dedicated to providing “information gain” that cuts through market hype to find real-world blockchain utility.
